TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sumitro Djojohadikusumo enjoyed a measure of privilege because his father, Margono Djojohadikusumo, was a banker during the Dutch colonial era. Yet Sumitro’s childhood was also marked by scenes of poverty of the pribumi (native) communities. “He saw and experienced it because he often accompanied his father on tournee trips to the villages,” said Ismid Hadad, a colleague of Sumitro’s, when met in East Jakarta on Monday, April 20, 2026.
Tournee, a Dutch word, means traveling around from place to place. In the mid-1930s, Margono routinely undertook inspection trips across Central and East Java—including Madura Island—as Inspecteur van het Volkscredietwezen, or Inspector of People’s Tax and Customs Administration. The institution later evolved into the Algemene Volkscredietbank, or People’s Credit Bank.
The inspections were intended to examine the mounting number of bad loans caused by the economic crisis. Sumitro described the period as a depression brought about by the failures of the colonial government. He witnessed villagers crowding in front of rural credit offices, lining up for loans simply to survive.
Sumitro recounted those experiences in his dissertation while studying at the Nederlandsche Economische Hogeschool—now Erasmus University Rotterdam—in 1943. The dissertation, titled Het Volkscredietwezen in de Depressie (People’s Credit During the Depression), is regarded as one of Sumitro’s magnum opuses. “The primary source of Sumitro’s dissertation really came from his father’s experiences,” Ismid said.
